1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in an apparatus for and method of a uniform and regular distribution of seasonings such as seasonings placed on potato chips, tortilla chips, corn chips and like snack foods, or of similar granular/powdered materials which are required to be evenly distributed.
2. Prior Art
Snack foods, particularly savory snacks, are extremely popular with consumers. Such snack foods include but are not limited to, potato chips, tortilla chips, corn chips, and the like. Such snack foods are typically seasoned by sprinkling of seasonings of one form or the other on the surface of the individual snack items. Examples include potato chips seasoned with salt, barbecue flavoring, sour cream and onion flavoring, vinegar flavoring, etc. Similarly, corn chips and other snack foods are seasoned with various flavorings. The distribution of seasoning is accomplished by sprinkling seasoning on the surface of the products after the products have been cooked and prior to their packaging. The application and distribution of such seasoning greatly affects the product quality. That is, if seasoning is distributed in clumps some chips are too strongly seasoned and other portions of the same batch of chips will be too lightly seasoned, thus creating a poor quality product. Also quite importantly, the distribution of seasoning greatly affects the economy of manufacturing. There is a continuing desire to economically measure and then to uniformly and evenly distribute the seasoning over the snack food during the manufacturing process.
Almost all seasonings vary in their flow properties. The metering of seasonings is important to ensure that only the proper amounts are applied and the distribution of the seasonings is important to ensure that the seasonings are evenly distributed over the product. Common seasonings in favor with consumers of snack food products, for example, barbecue, sour cream and onion, cheese, are sticky, lumpy, and very difficult to dispense. Not only the above-mentioned seasonings, but all seasonings present some difficult problems in metering and distribution.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,162 is directed to the problem of accurately metering and uniformly distributing seasonings through a seasoning tube (sometimes called a seasoning snout) which extends into a seasoning drum and is fed from a hopper through an auger. Acrison, Inc. of Moonhatchey, N.J. supplies commercially available equipment in which a motor-driven auger extends through the side of a hopper and through a short measuring tube to meter seasoning or other granular/powdered material.
While the prior art, especially as embodied in U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,162, works adequately, there is a continuing need to improve the seasoning coverage and distribution on the snack food chips.
Previous attempts to improve seasoning distribution using an elongated fluted bar beneath the seasoning snout to disperse the falling seasoning were not completely successful due to seasoning sticking to the fluted bar and not being uniformly distributed.